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New computer degree could open doors for Fort Gordon

A potential new computer degree program at Georgia Regents University could better prepare graduates for issues like cybersecurity and open a door for a degree for personnel training at Fort Gordon.

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents will be asked this week to approve a new Bachelor of Science in Applied Information Systems & Technologies at GRU. The university already has two other computer degrees, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Information Systems. The new degree could offer a difference focus, said Dr. Todd Schultz, professor of information systems in the Hull College of Business, who will be coordinator of the new program. It will better prepare graduates for careers in software development, like creating apps or working in game development, he said.

“Another key area is the whole area of security and information assurance,” Schultz said. “Right now, neither of our programs really address that as a central concern.”

The computer training and Signal School at Fort Gordon could provide many who already have some proficiency in for instance security to advance their training and get a degree in their area, he said.

“Can we round it out to a four-year degree to make them better at what they are doing now and also, when they happen to leave the service,” have that degree, Schultz said. The program could also attract those with strong two-year degrees in related fields who want to broaden their experience and even those who have professional certifications they want to use toward a degree, he said.

Part of the challenge will be learning what experiences and training in the military or in the professional world should count toward that degree, Schultz said.

“We’re still learning how that is going to work,” he said. The program hopes to tap into and feed off what is actually becoming a strength for Augusta, Schultz said.

“It’s been sort of a hidden thing but the Augusta area has one of the hottest growing areas in terms of high technology and information technology over the last five years,” he said.